Section 14

The sun rises, and I wake up with the sound of an alarm. Alice has already left, probably to work out or something. The clock says it's 9 AM, so I sit up and get out of bed, stretching and yawning as I do so. Today is the day of my date with Alice, so I gotta look my absolute best!

I shower, scrub all over my body twice, wash my hair to perfection, and dry off and put product in my hair before blow drying. After that, I put on some makeup, though not too much since I don't need a lot to be pretty. Then I walk out of the bathroom and find a good outfit to wear, that being blue jeans with a white tank top and a thin jacket over my arms. My shoes are low to the ground black heels, easy enough to walk in and they look good. And although I don't need one with Alice with me, I grab my small light gray purse anyway to add to the fashion. And lastly, I put on Miyamoto Musashi's hair tie as I always do.

After all that, it is already 11 AM, I pick up my phone and text Alice.

Serena: I know we're meeting at noon, but where exactly?

Alice: How about in front of the building, near where we entered? That way we can plan accordingly and just start at home base and work our way around. Sound good?

Serena: Yep, all good! See you in an hour! 3

Alice: :)


I stand at the front of the Hôtel de Ville as planned. I got here early as it's 11:59 AM, but it's strange for Alice to not be here early.

As for what I have planned, I've got nothing. There's so much to do in Paris that I don't know what to do, funny how that works. I can feel myself getting looks from others both men and women, so I guess I do look good after all.

I hear footsteps from my left and look over to see Alice slowing down her jog. Noon on the dot, just like her.

She's wearing gray colored jeans, running shoes, and a plain gray T-shirt. She also has a small backpack on, probably to be able to mask her using her magecraft to store things.

Alice pauses and her eyes widen, glancing up and down my body and then blushing. "I underdressed…", she pitifully says and walks toward me slower than she was before.

"If I knew you were going to dress like that…"

"Now now, you look great! I'm guessing you changed in the room given to you?"

"Yeah, I figured you were busy getting ready for this, so I had been exercising in the meantime."

I pet Alice to cheer her up some more.

"Like I said, you look great. Don't worry about what I'm wearing, and don't compare yourself to me, got it?"

She nods and agrees. "So, where to go first? Any ideas?"

I shake my head. "No, I was thinking we just walk around and if something interests us, we can stop. Is that good with you?"

Alice nods and we get on our way, walking onto the busy streets of Paris. With it being noon, rather than almost night, there's more activity around today than yesterday, and it adds to the atmosphere.

Adults, children, men, women, and people of all ages walk around on this nice day. Alice and I walk the streets and look around at the architecture. Our first stop is a cute-looking cafe for lunch.

We walk inside and are able to get a table quickly. There's a patio and indoor seating, so we chose the patio outside. The waitress delivers water to our table and takes our drink orders, then leaves.

"I don't think we've ever had lunch like this alone at an actual restaurant. Beats the cafeteria, huh?"

Alice smiles and sips her water. "Yeah. Emiya's cooking is great and all, but to be able to eat in a place like this is great."

Her gaze is fixed on the horizon where we can see all the buildings around.

"Alice, have you ever been on a date before?"

"No, I haven't. Unless you count eating out with Bazett to be one."

"I mean, if you're into your adoptive mom like that then sure. But really, not even one?"

Alice shakes her head. "As I said, no one was really into me like that. Besides, most people at the Clock Tower already have their partners arranged. It would do no good to try to date them."

I smile and reminisce about my past and the dates I had with Hana. Back then, they were great, but now the memory is just tainted by what she did. But it doesn't matter, I'll make this the best date possible for her sake!

Our drinks arrive and we order classic stuff to order in Paris and our meal flies by fast.

Afterward, we walked around Paris some more, taking pictures along the way. Eventually, we reach what looks to be a movie theater.

"I wonder what's playing?"

"Serena, it's 2001, these would've been out for a while."

"Shush. I want to look." I take a look at the board which shows the movies, along with their times, and due to the automatic translator that links to our sight, I can read all of them perfectly in Japanese. "How about… Moon Princess? I've never even heard of that one, and it's gonna start soon. Wanna see it?"

Unable to turn down my plea, Alice accepts and we walk in. We buy the tickets and some popcorn despite having just eaten, and we head into the theater, taking our seats.

"Have you heard of this one, Alice?"

Alice shakes her head. "No, it said it came out only a few months ago this time. For the theater to have it for so long must mean it's doing well."

The theater around us fills up with various couples, people on their own, friends, families, and all sorts. The lights dim, and the movie starts.

The movie isn't what either of us thought it would be. It's about a man who can see death and kill anything. He meets a Princess from the Moon and kills her for a first impression. The Princess was there to kill vampires and only do that, but after spending time together, the man and woman fall in love with each other, but the story is bittersweet and ends with the Princess having to return to her home and leave the man behind with a smile on their faces as they would someday meet again.

The movie brought me, and many others to tears, its plot was just brilliant. I look over at Alice to see her wiping away a tear and sniffling.

"Alice, were you crying?"

She jumps in her seat. "N-no. My eye just itches, besides, look who's talking."

Man, she's so cute.

We get up and leave the theater after two hours. The time is now 3 PM, and we have the rest of the day to do stuff.

We walk around the street some more and come across a clothing store that seems to sell just about anything a woman would need clothing-wise, so of course I drag Alice in with me.

Casual clothes, cute clothes, more formal clothes, lingerie, normal underwear, this place has everything!

"Hey, Alice. How about we pick each other up some stuff and then we try it on when we reconvene? It's best to get second opinions on what is cute after all."

Alice thinks for a moment and nods her head. "Sure, how about three outfits each? Deal?"

"Deal! My sizes are 88-62-85. What are yours?"

Alice blushes hard at my sudden exclamation and quietly replies: "81-65-90."

"Got it, I'll do nothing lewd with this information!"

"You've seen me naked, why does knowing my measurements even matter?"

"Shush."

I walk off to find outfits for her to wear. Alice is a tomboy, so I feel like cuter outfits would be better for her since all she has is basic-looking stuff like t-shirts or tank tops. So maybe a dress would look good on her? Perhaps a maid outfit.

"No, she'll kill me if I give her that."

I need to keep it normal enough that she won't get mad; but I also want her to look cute, even if it doesn't fit her tastes. And so, my hunt begins for first, a dress. The store is big enough that neither of us will see each other while shopping, so that is my biggest advantage. I come across the dress section and look at the options.

"No, it can't be a formal dress to go to dances in, something that can be worn anywhere would be best. She'd hate a sundress, so no…but maybe this one?" I set my eyes on a dress that would be good for summertime. It has short sleeves and it goes down to the knees. No way to see her cleavage since it's high enough to not expose anything. It's light green like a leaf. This will be the first outfit I get for her.

I then think about what's next. Maybe something tomboyish? Her combat Mystic Code wears a jacket over a sweater, so maybe something like that for more casual purposes? I found the area that those are in after asking a store clerk and looking at my options. Red, blue, green, black, yellow, brown, these all won't work for her, but I get a good feeling from the light brown leather one with some fur coating the inside of it, so I grab that and pair it with a white shirt and blue jeans. The second outfit is complete. Now for the third, hehe.

I select the third "outfit" and go to the changing rooms where Alice is already waiting. "Ready, Serena?"

"Yes, but no peeking at the pile. Go into the changing room first and then put them on. Then come out so I can see. After you're done trying on the three, I'll do the same. Then, we can choose."

Alice takes the pile from my hands and walks into the nearest stall while I take a seat outside on an uncomfortable plastic bench. I can hear the rustling of her clothing as she changes into the first outfit, then the door opens and she walks out of the room, but not too far. She's wearing the dress I selected for her.

"How do I look?", she asks while looking at me. She does a spin, poses like a model, and twists, and turns her body to let me look at all angles.

"You look great! I think you can pull it off quite well."

Alice blushes and looks at herself. "You think so?" She smiles to herself and does a spin. "Well, I'll try on the next one you gave me." She returns to the dressing room and I can hear her take the dress off and grab the next outfit.

Rustling, rustling…and after a minute or two, she walks out with her next outfit. The one with the leather jacket. "This one's quite warm."

She once again twists her body to let me see all angles, and she pulls it off quite well. Her body looks perfect in it, it compliments her short hair very well, the colors match her greatly, and she looks simply perfect.

"You look stunning. I love it!"

Alice smiles and looks at herself in the mirror. "You think so? I like it too, I'm not really one to care about clothing too much, but even I have to admit I like this. Okay, I'll try on the last outfit." She returns to the dressing room once more and I hear her take off her outfit, then pause.

"Serena?"

"Yes, Alice?"

"I'm not showing you this. It's literally just lingerie.", she says from beyond the door.

"Oh come on! Why can't I see!? I've seen you naked!"

"Don't shout! Besides, it's embarrassing if you saw me in this."

"Wait, are you wearing it?"

"…"

I hear her take something off and rustling of clothes, then she walks out of the changing room in her normal clothes. "Your turn, wear what I picked you."

My blood runs cold as she seems sort of mad, so I do as asked and go into the changing room. I change into the first outfit, it's a frilly-looking dress. Not exactly a maid uniform but also not a normal dress. It actually looks quite nice on me. The top is white and the skirt is dark blue. I walk out of the room and show Alice and she seems to like it on me.

"I'm not so good when it comes to clothing, so I hope you like it."

"I do. It's totally my type!"

I do a little spin as Alice did, the skirt flowing into the air as I spin.

"Alright, next one!", I run back into the room and quickly change into the next, which is…a white bunny onesie.

I put it on anyway and walk out, more confused than anything. "Alice? What's this?"

Alice snaps a photo immediately before I can react and chuckles a bit.

"HEY!"

"You look really cute in that. Look at your little ears."

She takes several more pictures with her phone and I try to shield myself but I also sorta let her take pictures. After she has her fun, I take it off and change into the last outfit which is a white tank top that exposes my stomach along with gray sweatpants. It's the outfit she wears sometimes. I leave the changing room and show her the outfit.

"This one is comfortable, I'll give it that."

"Right? I love wearing this type of outfit, so I figured you might."

I twist and turn a bit more for Alice and then change back into my normal clothes that I put so much effort into wearing for the day.

"Alright, I'm gonna buy all three.", I say while holding all of them folded up. "Even the bunny onesie? I got that as a joke."

"You looked like you liked me wearing it, so I'll get it.", I say with a slight blush. Alice holds up her stuff. "I'll buy all three of these too."

"Even the lingerie!?"

"I mean, I liked it. I just didn't want to show you to fuel your perviness. It was very comfortable and I don't have any nice underwear like that."

I smile and we pay for our things, which wasn't cheap, but Chaldea pays a lot anyway so who cares at the end of the day? We leave and duck into a back alley so Alice can stash it away in her pocket dimension, and then we continue.

After walking for a few more minutes, we stop at a public bathroom and Alice goes in, passing her backpack to me. "Don't fall in.", I jokingly say to her and she waves back.

I lean against a brick wall and watch the sky, the fluffy clouds passing by without a care.

"Hey, look at that cutie.", a man says to his friend as they are referring to me, us making eye contact.

"Oh great…", I switch off the translator in my wristband and let them come up to me.

"Hé, tu es célibataire? Tu veux traîner avec nous si tu es seule ?"

"すみません、フランス語は話せません。"

"Hein? Dans quelle langue parle cette fille? Elle a l'air asiatique, donc chinoise peut-être ?"

"私はもうデートがあるし、あなたみたいな男とは行きたくないの。 あんたみたいな男とは付き合いたくないんだ。"

I take a step back and my back hits the wall, in other words, I'm cornered as they approach me. I don't think they're going to grab me, but if they do I can easily fight back and—

"Hey, what are you two doing? Do you need something?"

I do not understand what Alice is saying as she's speaking in English, but I can vaguely tell by her actions of getting in front of me and putting her arm out.

"Oh, tu es son ami? Tu veux venir traîner avec nous ?"

"No thanks. We're busy. Leave her and us alone or I'll call the cops."

I still can't tell what she said. But the two men scram, and leave Alice and I alone.

"Serena, are you okay, did they touch you?"

"え? 理解できない...ああ、そうだ。", I switch the translator back on. "I asked if they did anything to you."

I shake my head. "No, they were just probably harassing me, I'm fine thanks to you!", I give her a big hug as thanks, and then we get a move on, mostly to get away from the area.

The rest of the day passes quickly, we explore so much of Paris and end our journey at the Eiffel Tower.

"So, did you know there are catacombs under us? Under most of Paris, actually.", Alice says as we walk through the night toward the tower.

"Catacombs…those mass underground grave things?"

Alice nods and points down at the grass. "Bodies are stored in the walls under there. It's kinda creepy from the footage I've seen. People are allowed to take tours of them too."

My body shivers at the thought and I wildly shake my head a resounding no. "No thanks. Too scary for me."

"Hehe, same here."

The tower finally appears and is all lit up due to it being dark. Many others have gathered around to look too.

"So beautiful…", I unconsciously say. It's just a fact. I've always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower, and now that I am, my breath is taken away. We may not be able to climb it, but this is more than good enough.

"It really is something, huh?", Alice responds and stares at it too. The golden spire watches all of Paris with its light. It's almost like a beacon of sorts signaling to all of the city. Higher than any building around, it stands beautifully.

I grasp Alice's hand without thinking and hold it tight, then I move closer to her and we touch shoulders.

"Thank you for today, Alice. I had so much fun I almost forgot that we're in a Singularity."

Alice looks over and pulls me into a hug, her body warms up my own as the night air makes me cold. She strokes my hair and smiles.

"No, thank you for inviting me, Serena. I also had a lot of fun with you. I wish this would never end…"

I pull back from the hug and then give her a quick peck on the cheek. My face must be red right now, and she can see it even with the darkness.

"Alice, I uh…let's do this again sometime, alright?"

Alice blushes and touches her cheek.

"Yeah, I'd love to."

"Sorry for being so bold, it's just I felt like it for the mood and all…"

Alice smiles. "I don't mind. No need to apologize, but Serena, let me say this."

She grabs my hand with both of hers. "I don't know how I feel about you. If I love you or if I'm in love with you, I don't know yet. Or even if it's okay for me to love you. I'd like to figure that out, if you'll wait for me, that is, if you like me that way in the first place…"

"Huh? Alice, you mean-!"

Her face is completely, uncharacteristically red. My heart stops and my voice gets stuck in my throat.

"Forget it, don't worry about it, Ser—"

"I'll wait for you. Once you find your answer, I'll be there to hear it no matter the outcome. Got it? I'm happy just being by your side, so I won't be mad with whatever you choose."

A tear runs down my face, it was inevitable with this situation.

"I don't even know if I'm ready to date myself. With all that happened…"

Alice smiles a wide, happy smile. "Then we can figure it out and wait for each other. As you said, I'm fine with just being your friend if you're not ready, so don't worry."

We hug once again, this time for a few minutes without a single word exchanged. After that, we head back to the Association hand in hand after a wonderful day together.


"DAMMIT!", Olga curses as her spells miss the target. She's currently in the training hall where magi train their spells. Her Gandrs are unsteady as she's been practicing all day, not that they've been always hitting the target each time.

The training hall is a giant room that is stadium-sized and has many different ways to train. Targets for magecraft, physical dummies for physical attacks like reinforcement, and a place where one could fight someone else to practice or let out anger. Olga is on the target side of things and is practicing her Gandr.

"Ah, what am I doing wrong…?"

"Interesting…", an elder man's voice says from behind her. Olga turns around and is greeted by Zelretch himself.

"Lord Zelretch!?", she nearly screams and bows to show respect, but the man just waves it off as a nonnecessity.

"From what I can tell, you have high-quality Magic Circuits, along with a large mana pool, but you have trouble with output, right?"

She nods and looks at her hand. "Yes. I just can't focus my magecraft well enough right now. I know I'm talented on the inside, but I can't properly use some of my spells. It's as if the magecraft was water, it's like a large amount of water trying to squeeze through a crack in the wall. It both won't all come out, nor is it accurate and fires in every direction."

He scratches his beard and thinks for a moment. "It is not uncommon for this sort of thing to happen. Have you considered using a wand? It would help focus your magic rather than from your whole arm, it would just fire from the tip of the wand, so using your analogy, it is a hose."

"A wand? Aren't those for beginners who can't use magecraft properly?", Zelretch gets a confused expression as if she just insulted him, but he knows it was an accident. He removes a certain sword from his cloak.

"The Jeweled Sword here is a wand and a sword. But it primarily helps me focus my Magic. I do not use it as a sword, it merely has the shape of one, but in essence, it is a wand. So no, they are not only for beginners.", he smirks as Olga turns pale and apologizes for insulting him.

"Here, try this."

He reaches into his cloak and pulls out a dagger. It looks fairly like any dagger one could come across, silver and dark gray with a leather-brown handle. But at the bottom of the dagger, along with a bit at the top of the handle rests a gem on each part. The gems are rainbow-colored like a kaleidoscope, shining in the light of the hall.

"Is this-!?"

"No, it is not my Jeweled Sword or a recreation. This is merely a Mystic Code I made a while back. The gems are rainbow because I have plenty of those, plus I think they look good. Wouldn't you agree?"

Olga examines the blade and looks mesmerized. "To think I'd be given a Mystic Code by Zelretch himself…", she then looks up at him with a spark in her eyes. "Can I keep it!?"

Zelretch smiles and pats her shoulder. "Try it first. If it does not work with you, then there's no reason to keep it. My Mystic Codes have a small level of sentience and essentially choose the wielder. If it cannot detect a good reason for you to use it, then it will not let itself be used. It is an anti-theft technique."

"Oh, so kinda like the Harry P**ter books."

He gets an annoyed look in his eyes. "Yes…but those books are highly inaccurate, I would rather you not compare my works to a fiction series. But you would be correct in the comparison.", he points toward a target. "Go ahead and try firing a Gandr at that target. A full-powered one at that. If something goes wrong, I am here to help."

And with that, he steps back and watches closely as Olga extends the dagger like a wand, pointed dead center of the red and white target, aiming for a bullseye. Her surroundings fade, Zelretch vanishes, and Olga is left in a black void all alone except for her wand.

"Please, wand. Please help me. I want to stand by his side. But without power, I'll just be a burden to him. So please, I need your help."

Of course, no one outside could hear her as it was the same as speaking in her mind.

The wand doesn't respond to her plea. Her heart sinks in her chest, but she can't give up!

His image forms in front of her, walking away into the distance. An unimaginably strong wind pushes her back and makes her feel like she'll be torn to shreds like once before.

"This won't stop me this time!", she runs toward the man in the coat, but he does not acknowledge her presence.

One step forward, her side is pierced.

After another two steps, her fingers are blown off.

"Don't…stop me!"

She breaks into a sprint. Her body screams in pain as it's blown to pieces like rapid erosion.

"Not yet!", she screams as her lungs are destroyed. Her eyes burst and her heart is crushed. She almost reaches his back but fails once again. Olga Marie dies.

Mana is channeled into the "wand," her Circuits turning rapidly as they prepare to fire a Gandr.

A loud explosion rings out in the training room, drawing everyone's eyes to the obliterated target. Olga falls to the ground and catches her breath, panting in a cold sweat.

"So, you managed to 'convince' the Mystic Code? Very good, Miss Animusphere."

She looks at the dagger, and smiles at it, holding it close to herself. "Thank you, Lord Zelretch. This is a big help, and I don't know if I can repay you."

Zelretch smiles, and the air around the two distorts. "I know of a way you can repay me."

The training room falls, or more like Olga is flying up, watching her body from above, until even that vanishes. She feels like she's going to puke and her vision goes black for a brief moment, and when her eyes open, she stands in a purple sphere.

"Where…?"

"This is a pocket dimension where I do most of my work. I would like to speak to you in private, so this will do."

Olga turns around and sees him floating in a chair. "What do you want to speak about?"

He chuckles and asks the question. "How did you manage to change Brunestud so much?"

"How did I—?", Olga smiles to herself. "That's something I don't know. At first, I thought he was a jerk. He always teased me and messed with me. But, I learned during Trifas that he had a kind side that encouraged me to do my best. And even through this Singularity, he was being much nicer to me. He still teased me, but he was a lot more protective and encouraging. He praised me over and over. I guess at some point, I managed to change him and didn't realize it, that's all. I don't have an answer that you could deem accurate, I'm afraid."

Zelretch thinks for a second and responds. "Yes, you must have changed him for him to trust you with his sword.", he gestures to her back and the sword slung there.

Olga blushes and touches its handle. "Yeah…I guess so. From what Arcueid said, his and Nick's souls mixed and formed a third personality. I'd assume that's what made it so he changed."

"I see. I will have to talk with him. It would be strange though with our previous history…"

Olga recalls a popular story regarding Zelretch, a fight everyone knows.

"By the way. That fight against him, how did that go? Everyone knows of it, but no one knows any specifics. Would you mind telling me? Maybe it can be used to beat Altrouge."

Zelretch smiles and stands up off of his floating chair. "I can show you if you wish. I do not think it will help against the Princess, but if you wish to see the battle, then I'll entertain you."

A sense of drowsiness flows over Olga, her eyes grow heavy, and her consciousness is transferred somewhere else long ago…


300 AD. Unnamed area on Earth.

A man walks across the Earth with no clear destination in mind.

All the man seeks is multiple forms of entertainment, and can find that through simply exploring. He wants to take over humanity, but can do that any day he wants. He wishes to become familiar with the Earth first and foremost.

That man is Brunestud of the Crimson Moon.

?

He spots something in the distance and looks up.

A man? No, multiple people? Hundreds? Where are they from?

Hundreds of people fade in out of thin air. The man leading them was a blond-haired mage dressed in black. Following him are hundreds of mages with varying expressions. Some scared, some confident, some anxious, some even emotionless. But the one leading them has a serious look on his face as he stares at Brunestud.

The mages start to talk to each other the moment they spot TYPE: Moon.

Brunestud looks them up and down and notices weapons in their hands.

So that is how it is.

"I assume you and your group have come to kill me? You are not the first, nor will you be the last. State your name!", Brunestud points directly toward the blond in front who is clearly the leader.

"It is an honor to meet you in person, Brunestud of the Crimson Moon. My name is Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. Disciple of the King of Magecraft, Solomon. Wielder of the Second Magic."

"Oh? A big name and a big title you got there.", he closes his eyes. "I assume introductions are not needed on my behalf? You all already have your goal to end my life, so I am sure you know who I am?"

"Correct. Brunestud, your existence can no longer be tolerated. You have slaughtered many and ruined so many lives for your so-called entertainment. This can go on no more."

"So you plan on killing me with that army of yours, Kischur? Hah! I would love to see you try!"

"Very well then. Men! Assume position!"

The army begins to advance toward the Crimson Moon in a calculated formation.

"Oh? You have decided to approach me? Do you really wish to fight the Crimson Moon? Despite your lack in skill and numbers?"

"We cannot kill you without getting closer."

"Then come as close as you would like!", Brunestud begins to advance as well to meet his enemies.

In his hand manifests a crimson-bladed greatsword with a gray and black guard and hilt. In response, Zelretch pulls out a gem sword from his coat. Crimson Moon's black and red trench coat flutters in the wind with each step. Brunestud's sword begins to float behind his body, following him where he goes.

"If any one of you values your pathetic life, I am willing to let you go unharmed if you cease this attempt to fight me. But, if you remain to fight, you will all die. Your choice. Your chances of survival against an Ultimate One are zero."

The mages look at each other and murmur.

"Do not falter, men! We will defeat this monster and it will be a victory for the world!"

"YES SIR!", they all yell out. Some with fear, others with complete confidence. Not one person leaves.

"You have dug up your own graves."

They begin to fire as many spells as possible, aside from Zelretch. Normally, this amount of spells could easily kill just one being. There are even some grand-level mages in this army who alone, could defeat even the strongest of beings on the planet. But Ultimate Ones are in a completely different league.

Moments before the attacks are about to hit him, their course is readjusted to all miss. All flying around and behind him, exploding with zero effect on their intended target.

Gravity was changed on a whim around the Ultimate One.

He looks behind him at the several craters formed. "You are weak."

The magi all recoil in shock. Their most effective spells did nothing to the enemy! Nor did he put any effort into defending. This was child's play to him.

They continue to fire, attempting to at least scratch the thing. But to no effect whatsoever. The attacks continue to be manipulated away from him. All he does in the meantime is stand there with a smirk on his face.

"Is it my turn now?", he says after letting out a sigh.

Brunestud raises his arm toward the army. Immediately, defensive spells are thrown up at the command of the Wizard Marshall.

Wind begins to blow around his arm and condenses at his hand.

"Alt Nagel."

A gale of wind is shot at the army, easily tearing away at his intended targets, the right side of the army. Their defenses mean nothing. A pillar of wind shoots up toward the heavens before vanishing.

Their confidence dies instantly. He just obliterated an eighth of their army with ease.

Brunestud crosses his arms with a disappointed look on his face. "When will you take this seriously? Kischur, is that all you have? I got excited over the prospect of fighting an entire army, but I seem to be mistaken."

Zelretch only looks on with the same serious face he's had this whole time so far.

"Fine. I will just bury your hopes and dreams into the ground, along with your bodies."

A beam is shot at the vampire from a sword made of jewels. Brunestud goes to manipulate gravity once again, but…

It is not affected.

!?

For the first time in this battle, he actually has to move to dodge an attack. All it took was a simple sidestep. But even so, he was still intrigued by this Magic.

"What?", Brunestud's face fills with surprise.

"What is that? What did you do?"

"It is just simple True Magic."

"True Magic? What is that?"

"Why would I explain that to you?"

"Hah! Kischur, you are an interesting guy. I can no longer take this lightly, can I? Very well then, I will expend some more of my power. Starting with your army!"

In a mere instant, Crimson Moon rushes forward and places himself in the middle of the army, and begins to engage head-on!

They all begin to attack the Type, but his sword acts on his mind alone. Attacking one side while he attacks another with his claws. His sword is an extension of his body and soul, therefore needs no input as it acts on its own.

The magi try their very best to attack and defend, but no luck at all. They each get slaughtered with ease, with the swipe of his claw or with the slash of his sword. All fall in his presence.

Despite not looking like the type, Brunestud was a genius in battle, able to analyze his opponent's next moves before they could even make them. The angle of their attack, the type of attack it is, where the attack will land, everything.

The only exception to this was Zelretch. For some reason, he could not be predicted. His very being is an anomaly to Brunestud.

A smile is plastered on Brunestud's face, this fight is pretty entertaining for him because of the unknown element thrown in that is named Kischur Zelretch. The army he couldn't care less about, but he is truly interested in Zelretch.

The dead magi continue to pile up.

"Do they not realize that this is futile?", he thinks before chopping off the arm of a mage and using his claw to fatally slash their face.

Zelretch appears behind him and swings his sword, Brunestud quickly jumps back and the Second Magic follows from range. The ranged attack connects with his blocking arms. Blood is drawn from Brunestud's body.

He lands and looks at his arms, attempting to process that he was wounded. In the grand scheme, it meant zero to him. They heal in a moment, but the fact that he was even wounded intrigues him.

Your army no longer interests me. I will kill you and make your power mine!

Gale winds surround the Ultimate One and a massive Alt Nagel covers the area like a tornado. If the magi did not die from the initial attack, they did when they hit the ground. All except one man. Zelretch stood near unphased. He looks at all the bodies, then back at Brunestud.

"Who…are you? Kischur?"

"A mage that is tired of the slaughters you have wrought."

"And that is why you are here to kill me. I expected nothing less! An opponent who can give me a good fight!

Zelretch readies his sword.

Brunestud's crimson sword flies into his right hand, grabbing it with the other, he gets ready to fight.

"The 'Real of the World' is quite a magnificent blade, do you not agree? It was forged from my non-human body. I no longer have access to that form, but now, it is a sword that goes with me wherever my soul ends up. Do you wish to see what it can do?"

"Are you enjoying this slaughter, Brunestud?"

"Hm? I would not say I enjoy it. It is just something I must do. It was your mistake to challenge me to a fight to the death. I am simply defending myself."

"What about all the others?"

"I do not know what you mean."

"Merem Solomon. The village he lived in was found dead by your hands."

"They were torturing a child, that child being Merem. I had to do something, and they did not deserve to live after what they put the boy through. If I am to become ruler of the Earth, I must make sure it remains peaceful."

"I now understand that words are meaningless against you. You just thirst for combat and blood. So I will kill you in combat.", Zelretch raises his sword once more, resolved to kill the Ultimate One.

"This is a fight lost to you, Kischur!"

The air fills with a brief silence, both men waiting for the first move.

"…"

"…"

It happened in an instant. True Magic clashes with the Crimson Moon. He blocks with his Alt Nagel as best as he can, and for now, it works.

Chains erupt from the ground and surround Zelretch, binding him in place. Brunestud charges in and slashes his blade at Kischur, but a blast of Magic puts this attack to a halt, and sensing the danger, Brunestud backs off.

What is this? I have never seen Magecraft like this before.

Real of the World behinds to float and Brunestud once again attacks.

Zelretch blocks the sword with his own blade. He also notices the vampire closing in with his claws.

*BOOM!*

Zelretch throws some gems that have been charged throughout a lifetime at the Ultimate One, causing a large crater to form in the earth below.

Getting thrown back, Brunestud charges up an attack.

"Alt Nagel!"

The pillar of wind is shot. Zelretch breaks away from the crimson sword and shoots Magic toward Alt Nagel, stopping its advance on him.

Crimson Moon stops his attack and rushes forward in a blur, landing a heavy punch on the mage's chest. Zelretch is thrown back far and lands on his back. Without pause, Brunestud grabs his sword and follows up his attack, swinging his sword down onto the mage.

But…Zelretch only smiles. A cunning smile telling Brunestud that he messed up. Reality falls apart around the two. True Magic is unleashed!

A beam of light smashes into the Ultimate One, sending him back a few meters. Their surroundings are now like a kaleidoscope. Nothing is visible except rainbow light, and the blond mage up ahead.

"Really, what is all this!? Answer me, mage!"

"It is the Second Magic. The power of parallel dimensions. One of the few forms of Magecraft that can rival an Ultimate One such as yourself. Allow me to show you its potential!"

"Hah! A mere scenery change will do nothing. You have lost no matter what you do."

"Remain in your disbelief and perish."

The blonde mage raises his gem sword and begins to fire off beams. Crimson Moon counters the beams with only his sword. Brunestud slowly but surely gets closer while Zelretch fires back with equal power.

With a slash, a wave of Magic is sent toward the Ultimate One. He dodges, but it scratches his cheek, drawing blood.

There's no time to think about this, the onslaught continues.

He launches himself toward Zelretch and chains him up, leaving him with nowhere to run.

Zelretch looks down, and the gem sword shines.

"Tch!"

The chains burst from light and Zelretch closes in on Brunestud who is still in the air.

*BAM!*

Zelretch lands a sizable cut across Brunestud's back, in response, Brunestud twirls and cuts Zelretch's back by throwing his sword at him. The sword stabilizes in the air and awaits its next "order."

Both parties land on their feet.

"It has truly been some time since I have had an even match like this. You can block my Alt Nagel, my chains do nothing to you, and our swords seem evenly matched. You are an interesting person."

"You have seen nothing yet, Crimson Moon."

"Neither have you."

Zelretch's legs turn green with reinforcement, and in a blur, he runs straight toward the TYPE in less than a second.

"What?"

He reinforces his hand and punches the man in the gut. Sending him flying for what seems like a kilometer. He impacts the ground and his body skids across it. When he finally comes to a halt, he gets up unhurt, but slightly surprised.

Brunestud dusts off his shoulders and looks ahead to see Zelretch simply standing there, observing. Real of the Word soars over and returns to his side.

A grin forms on his face. "Maybe I should let loose a bit more. This man seems like he can take it!"

Zelretch takes one step forward, then vanishes from sight. A small dust cloud rises from the ground. As if teleporting, he appears right behind the Ultimate One with a small rainbow-like effect. Bringing his blade down, he attempts to slash Brunestud to no avail as he dodges out of the way.

Allowing his crimson sword to do the work, the two blades clash together multiple times as Crimson Moon sharpens his claws and moves in to attack the mage.

Their eyes meet and—

*BOOM!*

The kaleidoscope explodes and rainbow colors demolish the area they were standing in. A crater now lays where the two once were. Zelretch lands on solid ground again as does Brunestud. Without a moment to recover, the Magician fires off a massive blast of magical energy like a sword slash cutting through the air.

Brunestud channels energy into his legs and leaps backward far into the air dodging the attack. But that was not the last of them, tens more came firing out at an even pace all aiming for his head.

"Idea Blood number 16 mimicry, Raven!"

Black, raven-like wings sprout from Brunestud's back and he begins to fly, easily able to dodge the incoming mana slashes by flying at rapid speeds. Twisting and turning, gliding with the wind. The Second Magic might as well be slow darts moving through the air.

Brunestud stops his evasiveness and fully spreads his wings, now staring back at Zelretch from a distance showing off his full glory. "It is futile, Kischur. I have so much more power I have not displayed yet. You cannot win this fight. But, I am willing to turn you into one of my advisors should you surrender now. That 'Magic' of yours is quite special even I can tell that much; so you can put it to more use than ever before and become a vampire!"

Zelretch only looks up at the King of Vampires and extends his blade toward the man. "I respectfully refuse your offer. Becoming a vampire can do nothing to me of benefit, and I would rather die than serve you. I came here to end your life, so that is what I shall do."

From behind the vampire, the kaleidoscope once again fires toward his back. Meanwhile, Zelretch fires a beam from the front causing Brunestud to be sandwiched in between two blasts of Magic which could injure him severely. But, at a moment's notice, a blue, cube-shaped barrier surrounds him and protects him from all harm.

"Idea Blood number 22 mimicry, Castle, therefore kingdom."

A shield meant to shield an entire kingdom from harm surrounds only one man. An impenetrable fortress both inside and out.

"I am sure you are confused about how I am doing such things, Kischur? There are many things that mere humans cannot even imagine, things that the Ultimate Ones can do like it is second nature. This is just one of my many abilities I possess. The ability to mimic past, present, and future Idea Bloods. As the father of the True Ancestors and by extension Dead Apostles, I can naturally pull off such a feat. Impressive, no?"

"You sure do like explaining things, Brunestud. But I will assure you, that power of yours will not save you. No matter what you throw at me."

Zelretch crouches down and raises the jeweled sword above his right shoulder and points at the Ultimate One and his barrier. Like a canon, a small point is focused on and True Magic is unleashed, blasting through the one point, the barrier cracks, then shatters leaving the Crimson Moon unguarded.

He looks around with surprise, then dives into the magician in a heartbeat.

Blades clash, and the two men go back and forth on their attacks both searching for the kill.

"Alt Nagel.", Brunestud quickly lets a large blast of wind out of his right hand which is dodged by a hair by Zelretch. The damage to the earth stretched on as far as the eye could see behind the mage.

In response, Zelretch throws some gems forward which explode in the Ultimate One's face, quickly following that up with a cut of True Magic which leaves a small cut on Brunestud's face.

The two men stop and the air grows quiet. Raising his hand, he touches his cheek and wipes the blood off, licking it as the wound closes.

He looks at the mage and begins to speak. "How did you develop such a Magic? I have never seen anything like it. I must know how you acquired it."

Zelretch drinks a potion, then tosses the empty bottle to the side which shatters on the ground into pieces. "I developed it after years of research under King Solomon. I earned it after reaching the Akasha via a path I created."

Brunestud touches his chin with his hand. "King Solomon… Does this mean you are around 1200 years old? How are you, a mere human still alive? You look young too. Blond hair, no wrinkles, you can move just fine, so how did you become immortal as a human?"

Zelretch smirks and begins to walk to the side slowly and calmly. Gems form where he once stood and form a copy of him. The copy does the same creating another Zelretch. This continues for a few seconds longer until ten Kischur Zelretchs exist in one space.

Brunestud looks on in surprise as if he's piecing everything together. "You create extra bodies of yourself out of gems to transfer your soul into to achieve immortality. How clever of you. Is this with your 'Magic?' It is almost like cloning. HahaHAHAHAHAHA! YOU ARE ONE INTERESTING MAN, KISCHUR! To think you would have even been able to get me entertained was a thought I would not have fathomed, yet, you have surpassed mere entertainment!"

Brunestud extends his hand as if offering a deal. "Are you sure you would not like to become one of my kind, Kischur?"

"I refuse."

Brunestud closes his eyes and sighs. "It is a shame I will have to kill such a fascinating man such as yourself, Kischur, but this is not the first time I have done such a thing." He opens them once more.

An ominous energy surrounds the Ultimate One. Zelretch takes guard along with the mindless clones he created, but what happens next is not what he expected at all.

"Arise."

All it took was for Brunestud to raise his arm into the air and his eyes glowed like a demon.

And all the dead bodies that were once part of Zelretch's army, now dead on the battlefield, woke up.

They begin to stir on the ground in what looks to be pain. Then, they all made their way to their feet, now staring Zelretch down.

"You monster.", Zelretch snarls.

Brunestud only smiles in response. "You will answer to my command."

The horde of mindless creatures rush forward toward the mage, and he, along with his clones do the same.

Brunestud breathes out cold air, and in the next instant, a glacier wipes out seven of the Zelretch clones leaving only two remaining along with the real one.

"Idea Blood number 19 mimicry, Freezing."

The battlefield is now covered in ice and frost. To normal humans, this would freeze their bodies and kill them in a matter of minutes, but the two who rule the battlefield here could not be called human.

One of Zelretch's doubles aims the false gem sword at the Type, only for the vampire to vanish in a blur and shred the fake with one swipe of his claws. Turning 180 degrees, he fires off another Alt Nagel at Kischur while chaining up the remaining clone, squeezing the life out of it and shattering it. All in a mere moment.

With a rectangular gem, Zelretch casts a shield that blocks the gale winds. The shield spans several times his size and holds the attack off well. Without missing a beat after determining that the shield shall not falter, he readies a blast from his gem sword and holds it in place like a bowman holding a bowstring, waiting for the perfect moment to let the arrow loose.

*CRACK!*

The barrier cracks, then shatters. In a split second, a mighty blast of Magic is fired and breaks through the wind before it can even get near Zelretch's body. Within a moment, Brunestud chains up a large chunk of loose bedrock and throws it in the path of the beam, shattering the stone into pieces which scatter in all directions, while also protecting him from the deadly attack.

"Idea Blood number 19 mimicry, Freezing. Plus Idea Blood number ██ mimicry, Melting." With both hands extended, ice comes out of his left, while smoke flies out of his right. Pressing the two together, steam is dispensed and coats the battlefield completely.

Zelretch looks around and quickly realizes that there is no way to see through the fog. A smokescreen? I am sure he can see through it just fine, but I cannot. For a mage of my caliber, however, this is nothing.

Like a wraith, Brunestud appears behind Zelretch and tries to deliver a slash to the back to no avail. Brunestud tries again and again but all attempts are blocked by his sword.

? How is he blocking my attacks even when he cannot see?

On the final attack, Crimson Moon swings his greatsword down and Zelretch vanishes. He disappeared before Brunestud's eyes.

!

The mist fades and Brunestud looks around to see no one in sight, not even the vampires he rose from the dead. His eyes focus on something and he sees…himself. He sees himself all around him like he is in a house of mirrors.

A Kaleidoscope…he trapped me using his Magic.

Walking up to a mirror, he indulges in his curiosity and touches his reflection. He passes through the wall and winds back up where he started. An infinite loop. A room with no escape. An eternal prison for the Ultimate One to die in.

I cannot brute force my way through from what I can tell, and judging by the me on the "ceiling," I cannot fly out of here either. Essentially, this is to keep me imprisoned for what I assume will be eternity. He may even kill me here eventually.

Brunestud's face shifts to annoyance.

This is slightly irritating…


Zelretch clears away the remaining vampires until nothing remains. He lets out a pained and tired sigh and sits down on the ground. He pulls a glass tube out of his coat and drinks it.

Much better. I should have sealed him away for good, but should he escape, I should get all the rest I can.

He looks toward the sky and the moon shines brightly up above. A cold breeze fills the air after the tough battle.

Brunestud of the Crimson Moon should have no way to leave that prison. I shall keep him there for the remainder of eternity if I must. Kischur's face turns to sadness and he leans back. His golden hair flows in the wind. I am sorry, everyone. I will make a grave for every one of them when I return home.

He stands back up and begins to walk away from this mess.

Today has certainly been a day alright. I could use a drink.

The Moon turned crimson.

Before Zelretch could even think to react, a sword is thrust through his chest from behind. The tip was now covered in blood which matched the blade in color, and Zelretch's vision began to grow hazy.

"That was some trick you pulled, Kischur. But, you cannot contain me that easily."

Zelretch lets out a quiet gasp and begins to cough. "How did you-?"

"Real of the World's ability, also called Real of the World. A Knight Arm that can dispel territorial effects that clash with the world. Reality Marbles, Bounded Fields, all sorts of things. And what you did can be considered a Bounded Field, so it fell as easily as it stood. As a "protector" of the Earth, I was given the ability to do such a thing since humanity is proficient in it. But…my blade has other functions too…"

The sword glows and mana swells up around the two. The air begins to buzz and Zelretch's body feels like it is turning into static.

The mage is trapped within a crimson sphere of energy. Assuring he cannot move anymore.

Crimson Moon's sword is still well planted within the Magician and Brunestud stands firm to not let him escape.

The sphere implodes, consuming Zelretch whole. What looks like stars fly inward, and after a moment, it all flies outward in a massive explosion. The area is cast into a blinding light, making it look like it is daytime.

The sound emitted could have been heard from several kilometers away from ground zero, but, there is no one around to hear it due to the field's isolation from society as Zelretch had planned in the beginning.

After the light vanished, there was no longer a man impaled on the sword, and Brunestud stood alone on the battlefield.

"You fought well, Kischur. But I have won this fight."

Real of the World begins to float behind Brunestud as his black trenchcoat flutters in the wind. His long blond hair trailing behind as he walks away.

A rainbow-colored blast of mana rips through the air from behind and barely misses Brunestud's head as he moves it to the right. Turning around, he meets eyes with a very much alive Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. His red-colored eyes stare right back at the vampire."

"Impossible!"

"It is very much possible. My Magic allows me to travel to parallel timelines, which is what I did to avoid your attack at the very last moment. Let us finish this, Ultimate One!"

The wound on his chest fills in with gems and is sealed like he was not stabbed at all.

A massive smirk forms on Brunestud's face. "You never run out of tricks, do you, mage!? This is the greatest fight of my life! Finally, I have a worthy opponent to face my full might!"

He grabs his sword tightly in his right hand and points it toward the mage in front of him by a few meters.

"I will hold back no longer, I will give you my all until you are dead. Do not worry; I will respect your wishes of not becoming a vampire and give you a proper burial assuming any part of your body remains."

Zelretch readies his sword too.

"I cannot say the same for you. I will personally drag you down to hell and make sure not even a speck of your body remains on this planet!"

In an instant, Zelretch vanishes from sight and then blips back into existence mid-slash on the Ultimate One. Brunestud goes to retaliate but the mage only teleports away once again. The perfect hit-and-run strategy.

The two go back and forth. Zelretch hits, then leaves while Brunestud tries to fight back, landing shots of his own on the mage. Zelretch appears once more and is quickly bound with metal chains from the ground. Brunestud covers the ground faster than a bullet and brings his blade down. But Kischur has other plans in mind. He has some gems drop down into his palms which rest on the side of his body, and he tosses them up, creating a miniature shield to protect himself even if only for a moment.

With reinforcement, he breaks out of the chains and creates more distance between them. A red gem drops where he lands and he continues to cover ground around the Ultimate One. Brunestud keeps his gaze on the mage and activates the sixteenth Idea Blood, taking to the skies above.

Wind swells in the area and a massive cyclone forms around the battlefield. As much as Zelretch tries to hold his ground, he is swept up as well into the air, flailing around like one normally would when flying unexpectedly.

A barrier surrounds the two via the twenty-second Idea Blood. With the wind contained, the damage is even more devastating than before. The wind howls as Zelretch is only sent higher and higher.

"Idea Blood number 25, Sword!"

A blade of white light forms and grows in the vampire's hand. He holds the sword above his head, then brings it down like a hammer, sending a beam of light toward the mage with a dragon shape to it. The beast roars and swallows Kischur whole.

*BOOM!*

True Magic bursts forth and breaks through the dragon, destroying it completely. Before the vampire can react, he tosses a large number of various colored and shaped gems forward. A barrier forms around the gems and grows smaller, compacting all of them together and dropping them to the ground below to avoid the attack.

In the second the Crimson Moon is preoccupied, Zelretch closes the distance and swings his blade down, activating the True Magic to boost the attack even further!

Brunestud's sword flies up and blocks the attack for him, but the Crimson Moon is thrown to the ground regardless. The beam of True Magic passes right through the blade and impacts the Ultimate One, sending him straight down to the ground.

Without missing a beat, Zelretch uses the Magic to boost himself to the ground like a rocket to follow up on his attack. A moment before the ground is impacted, Brunestud flips up and gets back on his feet, yet, he can no longer move his body.

"What the-!"

"It was foolish of you to throw those jewels to the ground without checking them first. They were never supposed to explode, they were only to capture you. This location was not my intention, but it worked out regardless!"

A large amount of mana focuses on the tip of the jeweled sword, and Kischur boosts himself forward with reinforced legs!

Come, Real of the World!

The crimson blade rockets down and places itself in between the two men, intending to block the incoming attack and allowing Brunestud to counter, but…

*SNAP!*

The blade shatters. All that True Magic focusing on the one, small point managed to crack and break the blade in half. Like ice shattering from one small impact, the blade does the same.

The Magic continues after breaking Real of the World and blows through Brunestud like a bomb. His torso is destroyed and his limbs, along with his head are all separated.

"—ha!"

A fatal mistake has been made on Zelretch's part. No matter which way you cut it, an Ultimate One is not dying from an attack that destroys no less than their whole body all at once.

His body begins to glow a red color and particles all fall into the mass. Something big is coming and fast.

Without missing a beat, Zelretch takes off running as fast as he can in the opposite direction. He has already gone past two kilometers away and is still moving as fast as humanly possible by reinforcing his legs and boosting himself with gems in his collection. The mass behind him still grows larger and larger. The ball of light and energy expands further. Zelretch will not make it at this rate.

"Idea Blood number 2, Crimson Moon."

The mass of energy expands five kilometers in a near instant. Whipping out any civilization that happens to be nearby Zelretch teleports out of it and sets himself out of its expansion range. Breathing heavily because of the massive amount of mana he just used, he looks up in sheer horror and shock at what has appeared.

In the distance, a 100-meter tall man stands there. The luminous body is glowing red and is unmoving. What looks to be a crown forms above his head and his once long, golden hair, now glows the same color as his body and stretches out like it is a cape flowing behind him. His sword is nowhere in sight which is a relief if anything.

Type-Moon has manifested his true form into reality. A form his now broken blade kept at bay, sealing it from being used. But now that the blade has been shattered, nothing is stopping the Ultimate One of the Moon's real body from existing anymore.

It goes without saying, but there is nothing left of the landscape anymore. It was like a nuclear bomb went off and destroyed all in its wake. Well, that is not right either. The field has begun to sprout flowers. Very pretty flowers that anyone would find beautiful. Flowers that seem to glow under the crimson moonlight. A castle rises from the earth and stretches as far as the eye can see. The Millenium Castle is the Reality Marble that the Crimson Moon Brunestud possesses. By being in his true body, the Reality Marble must have activated alongside it, giving him an advantage.

The monster does not move for a while as if he is adjusting to the shock of transforming after such a long time in a human-like body. But this is perfect. Zelretch immediately gets to work. He carves runes into the ground, plants gems all over, gathers mana, and everything he can do, he does right now while he has a chance to act freely. Spell circles are hastily drawn, as long as they work, perfectness is not needed right now.

The Crimson Moon Brunestud's gaze shifts over to the small man. With the flick of his hand, a massive slash of wind, powerful enough to spread buildings, is sent Zelretch's way.

So fast!

Gems are thrown and a shield is formed, but it is of little use. The barrier shatters and Kischur is thrown back fifty meters in an instant. His body bounces and rolls on the ground before colliding with a rock, stopping his movement.

He touches his head and can feel blood rolling down his face. Zelretch weakly gets up and briefly looks at the vampire who is already charging another attack. Being so large, his movements are slowed, but in exchange, he can cover more ground with his attacks and they are stronger than they once were.

"Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, you have done well surviving up until now. But it ends here. You now stand before a true Ultimate One. Once I am done with you, I will extinguish the world and start it anew. Someone like you exists, therefore, there must be others whether they are alive now, or will be alive. I will end humanity and make a new vampiric society in which I will rule over. Rejoice, the end is nigh."

Two cuts that slice through the air are hurled at the mage. His body is reinforced and he moves as fast as he can by channeling energy into his legs to quickly evade in one movement. Where he once stood turns from flat ground to a large crater in the ground. The attacks missed by a few meters, yet, he was still pushed by the wind created by the impact.

Stomps in the ground cause miniature earthquakes and the luminous body begins to walk over to Zelretch. He retaliates and fires True Magic at the Type but to no avail. It impacts the body and does nothing, like a bug landing on a human, nothing more than an itch or an annoyance.

Crimson Moon begins to bring down his fist, attempting to crush the mage. In response, he can only teleport out of the way to survive. The ground where he stood is decimated and Zelretch is safe for now.

"You cannot keep this up forever, Kischur. You will run out of mana at some point, but I will not."

The ground begins to crack, and massive chains climb out. They write around like snakes and then move toward their target being Zelretch of course.

He quickly jumps high into the air, dodging them as they come using gems as a foothold to further evade the chains. Outstretching his arm, he fires off a devastating Finn shot which shatters one of the many tendrils.

Behind me!

He twists his body mid-air and blows the chain to ash with True Magic, yet, another is already flying toward his backside, and one on each side that surrounds him.

"Hah!"

With another twist of his body, a blast of mana torches the remaining attacks.

*BOOM!*

With an earth-shattering step, the Crimson Moon appears on top of Zelretch's position in an instant, bringing his giant palm down hard!

"!"

Zelretch is brought to the ground and crushed in a second, the ground shattering under the palm's impact. Like a fly being swatted, he was wacked out of the air and to the earth. Flowers scattering in the aftermath.

Grasping the man, Brunestud brings Zelretch up to his face and looks at him. The bloody man struggles to move and looks right back at the Crimson Moon.

"How the mighty have fallen, Kischur.", his voice echoes. "You have fought enough, just give it up. Look up to the Moon."

Kischur looks up and notices that the Moon has begun to grow larger. No, not the Moon, but instead a copy of it. The real Moon is still up there while this massive, solid red body drops to the earth.

"Now, watch as the planet and humanity die, and begin anew with me. I do estimate one creature will survive at least, but as long as it does not wake, it will be fine."

"Detestable, filthy vampire!.", Zelretch spouts in anger. "Do not think I will let you do this!"

His grip tightens and Zelretch screams out in pain. "I can crush you in an instant and you would die, Kischur. But I will allow you to witness the Moon's fall in all of its brilliance."

The Moon draws closer and closer, burning up in the atmosphere. This will no doubt not only wipe out humanity and all life on Earth but could very well shatter the Earth as well.

"If you…think I am finished…you are much mistaken!"

The spell circles drawn on the ground begin to glow a bright blue and fire at the Ultimate One of the Moon. More specifically, his hand where Zelretch is kept. In response, gravity is distorted and the attacks all go in another direction away from the two. Zelretch grins to himself and says the following:

"Welt, Ende."

The sword of gems glows brightly, bright enough to illuminate a small town. Not only that, but it burns the Crimson Moon's hand due to it being pure True Magic. A concept a being not from this world would have no counters for.

Crimson Moon's grip lightens and that is all that is needed for Zelretch to drop to the ground, catching himself with wind magecraft to avoid death by falling.

Within a breath, he lands and then aims his sword.

Think, Kischur. I must destroy the false Moon, but if I do, Brunestud could always kill me while I am weak. But if I kill Brunestud first, the Moon will destroy the planet. So I need to kill both at the same time. But judging from earlier, I cannot kill him normally, I must eradicate his entire body all at once.

Within an instant as the Type goes to attack, Zelretch lets loose a massive beam of True Magic that impacts the Ultimate One.

The attack is not big enough. It will not stop the Crimson Moon or the fake Moon.

Not enough? Then…

The output is doubled.

Not enough.

Tripled.

Not enough.

It only covers around 3/4ths of the Crimson Moon. Think Kischur! What can I do!? I must go even further, but can I?

The thought of what his Magic is, what he worked all these years to master. All these years spent living, trying to be the best he can and live to honor Solomon.

The Second True Magic.

The Magic of Parallel Worlds.

The link is set. Parallel worlds are breached. Mana flows into his sword from every parallel world possible!

The recoil on his body is far too much for a human to handle, even with complete mastery.

He can't break it into multiple parts, that will still wipe out humanity. Instead, he must destroy this Moon enough that nothing remains.

KEEP GOING, KISCHUR ZELRETCH SCHWEINORG!

Quintuple, decuple, quinquagintuple, centuple, milluple!

Breaking every limit in his Magic and body, Zelretch reaches the strongest his Magic will ever be in this very moment to destroy the Moon itself, along with Type-Moon!

"Aaaahhhhh-aaaahhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

His hair turns gray, his skin wrinkles and his vision goes white. But no matter what, this Moon must be destroyed, and along with it, the Ultimate One of the Moon!

"HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

What!? How is he-Kischur, you-!

The entirety of the luminous body is covered by rainbow light, and the Moon behind him begins to crumble.

"KISCHUR, DO NOT DO THIS!"

Even with that, the mage continues to attack, no matter what, even if he dies, he must see this through to the end!

The Type tries to attack, but it is no use. At this point, all attacks instantly evaporated under the power of the Kaleidoscope. The fake Moon glows even more red, it is around 110 kilometers up from the surface, so not much time is left until it destroys the planet.

Even more blasts of mana appear and impact the Moon along with his own from the jeweled sword. All barrels are firing as much as they can.

The Ultimate One's body begins to crumble and fade under the power of True Magic. Zelretch begins to bleed all over. His eyes, ears, mouth. The strain is too much on his body.

ONE LAST PUSH!

Zelretch thrusts his blade forward one last time, one last push which sends a final pulse through the blast and impacts the Ultimate One. A bright crimson light blinds the area and next—

Type-Moon perished along with the fake Moon. Exploding into nothingness under the sheer strength of True Magic.

The battle is over. It lasted just over an hour, but it felt like an eternity. All that effort put forth by Zelretch allowed him to destroy Type-Moon, and humanity is safe from destruction, and his reign of terror.

Zelretch on the other hand is not doing well. His body feels like jelly. His limbs are unable to move and buckle under his weight. He collapses to the ground and stares up at the sky above. His now wrinkled mouth forms a smile, and he thrusts his arm into the sky.

"I did it, Master. Thank you for this knowledge. Thank you for guiding me toward the Second True Magic. Thank you for allowing me to get this far, and thank you for giving me a chance at killing the Crimson Moon that has terrorized the planet for thousands of years…"

His vision grew black, and his arm dropped, passing out from his injuries.


Olga returns to "reality," or rather, the pocket dimension.

"So that's what happened? What a battle that was…and to know what he looked like before."

Zelretch smirks. "Yes, it was quite the battle. I used everything I had and in return, most of my Magic Circuits were destroyed. I am not as strong as I was back then, that is why I believe that the same method cannot work on her. The output would be 1% of the fight against Brunestud. I'm sorry if that disappoints you."

Olga shakes her head and smiles. "No, we'll find a way, with your help, we can win."

"I sure hope so.", Zelretch returns to his chair and sits in it. "Well, you should head back to reality. I will remain here for the night."

"Thank you, for everything, Lord Zelretch. I owe you a lot."

Zelretch nods his head and Olga begins to vanish. "I have given you one more gift. It will be in your room when you return."

Olga's eyes widen in surprise.

"More?"

"Just a simple Mystic Code. It should be your size, so be sure to use it for your protection."

Olga is forced out of the dimension and back to reality.

She leaves the training hall and briskly walks back to her room only to see an outfit sitting neatly on her bed. A new Mystic Code for her to wear, and along with her wand, this means a whole new look thanks to Zelretch.

Who would've thought that Olga Marie Animusphere would be acknowledged by Zelretch of all people? Her confidence in herself has been boosted and for once ever since they started France, she was able to go to bed with a positive feeling for what's to come.